CANADIAN TECHNOLOGY
Under this alliance, Hatch will be the exclusive
provider of certain engineering services for oil
shale projects using Red Leaf’s proprietary
EcoShale ® oil shale technology, providing
engineering for all process design packages,
technical services and support through start-up
and performance testing.
Hatch has worked with Red Leaf in developing
its EcoShale technology since 2008. It has been
involved in the overall technology development,
including analysis of the pilot plant operation
and data, design of experiments, and laboratory
data development.
Red Leaf said: “Hatch has been the primary
contractor for all engineering designs associated
with EcoShale retorts, most notably the current,
reusable drum design. Engineering designs have
included yield estimates, heat and mass transfer
models, retort thermo-mechanical designs and
constructability analysis.”
EcoShale sees mined oil shale conveyed to a
closed container devoid of oxygen (retort drum
or capsule) where the shale is heated to
pyrolysis by injecting hot working gas. This heat
is transferred by gas convection in the rubblised
bed, which results in high yield, good quality oil
– around 24° API, according to Red Leaf.
Red Leaf CEO, Adolph Lechtenberger, said
Hatch was the “recognised expert” in
engineering services for the oil shale industry
and had unmatched experience in design and
project development of oil shale projects.
Sanjiv Save, Managing Director of the Oil and
Gas business unit of Hatch, said: “We see this as
the next step in helping oil shale projects achieve
unprecedented outcomes with reduced costs and
improved recovery of oil.”
Clear vision
Ontario-based Provix is finding its thermal
imaging cameras are a good fit for the mining
sector.
The company has been deploying these
cameras on heavy equipment in both open pit
and oil sands operations, as well as on employee
transport vehicles.
“Thermal imaging cameras provide enhanced
vision through extreme environmental conditions
such as steam, fog, darkness, snow and rain,”
the company said. “Productivity maintained and
increased safety while operating in adverse
conditions are the direct results of enhanced
vision for heavy equipment operators.”
It has now been three years since Provix
thermal cameras were first deployed on Cat D8
dozers operating in the tailings cells at Esso’s
Kearl Lake project in the oil sands of Alberta,
with operator response positive from the onset,
according to Provix.
The cameras were implemented as a direct
result of the limited vision the operators were
82 International Mining | APRIL 2019
experiencing in the tailings cells. This had
previously led to dozers going into unseen
sinkholes, crushing discharge pipes and
wandering dangerously out of the specified area
due to an inability to see, Provix said.
Oil sands extraction and separation methods
include the use of heated water that can result in
significant steam rising from the spent sand in
certain environmental conditions. As a result of
the rising steam, visibility for dozer operators is
significantly reduced, leading to potentially
unsafe operating conditions and lower
productivity.
Kearl Lake operates 14 D9 and D10 Caterpillar
dozes tasked with the spreading of spent sand
once the bitumen has been extracted, according
to Provix. “The problem with steam rising from
the spent sand has impacted on trip times as the
operators could not see properly through the
steam and therefore could not maintain expected
speeds. Not only does this present a safety
issue, but it increases the time required to
effectively distribute the by-products of the
extraction process,” the company said.
Deployment of thermal imaging cameras has
increased forward and rear-ward visibility for the
machine operators due to the ability of the FLIR
camera system to see through the steam,
according to Provix.
“FLIR thermal imaging cameras provide for
enhanced vision in steam, fog, smoke and dark
operating conditions,” Provix said. “Providing the
operators with visual acuity in dense steam,
allows them to confidently move their large
equipment, knowing that anything with a heat
signature will be clearly defined on the in-cab
design. Both personnel and other operating
equipment are clearly detected and as such,
operators are able to maintain an effective pace
through the distribution process.”
FLIR PathFindIRs are thermal cameras that are
designed for mobile deployment. Originally
developed as a military solution, they have been
commercialised and re-invented as a safety
solution for off-road vehicles, as well as for
heavy equipment operating in environmental
conditions that necessitate enhanced vision.
PROVIX systems with FLIR cameras have been
deployed in dusty conditions in South Africa, to
fog laden valleys in British Columbia, to
underground mining LHDs in Sudbury, Ontario, to
ambulances traversing Newfoundland, on
underground mine rescue vehicles in
Saskatchewan, to tractor trailers operating in
wildlife prone areas across the country.
Provix said it has taken the proven FLIR
technology and ruggedised it to withstand the
extreme operating conditions found in the mining
industry, whether that be surface mining in the
oil sands or underground hard-rock mining.
The Provix system consists of dual FLIR
thermal imaging cameras automatically activated
based on direction of travel and requiring no
operator input to display an enhanced image of
what is in front or behind the dozer. The camera
operates with a relatively narrow field of view, so
as to magnify any object detected, according to
the company.
“The two FLIR cameras are connected to a
rugged control panel that is directly connected to
the vehicle's power system. The single magnified
image from either camera is displayed on a 7 in
waterproof, dustproof monitor positioned for
ease of reference and adjusted to suit individual
operator sight lines. The access to the monitor
controls is physically blocked, to ensure there is
no operator interference with the functionality.
Auto Brightness and automatic display of the
appropriate camera image eliminate the
requirement for operator intervention, according
to the company.
In-production testing and subsequent
operation over the last three years in the oil
sands has led to full implementation across the
fleet. Feedback from site has indicated that
operators quickly adapted to the use of the FLIR
thermal cameras, and are increasingly confident
about working through environmental conditions
such as steam.
“With increased safety and enhanced
productivity, the Provix FLIR solution is a win-win
for Kearl Lake,” Provix said.
Today, the Provix solution is deployed at all of
the surface miners operating in the Fort
McMurray area. These include Suncor, Syncrude,
CNRL and Esso.
The company said: “All have reported the
same feedback; that these cameras provide
vision enhancement that has led to safer more
productive operations.”
The most recent development in the Provix
system has added predictive collision avoidance
to the thermal camera system. “When vehicles,
personnel, wildlife or any other object with a
heat signature is determined to be on a collision
path with the thermal camera-equipped vehicle,
an audible alarm and a visual flashing light will
be activated in the cab,” the company said.
The rise of renewables
Water is just one resource miners are particularly
concerned about not just in Canada, but globally.
Mining companies starting up new operations
are looking to rid themselves of the dirty diesel
power solutions they previously relied on for off-
grid projects and make moves towards the use of
renewable energy.
This is ambitious though; especially in
northern Canada, where going beyond the 60th
parallel normally involves building ice roads or
using helicopters to transport materials,
personnel and products.