IM 2020 July/August 20 | Page 64

NARROW VEIN & LOW-PROFILE MINING The DL2711 long hole drill is compact and allows the drill module to be closer to the face in narrow-vein mining applications The DS2711, meanwhile, is a one-man operated electro-hydraulic, fully mechanised bolter for rock reinforcement in underground hard-rock mines. The operator works from supported ground while protected under a FOPS-certified canopy structure. “Mechanisation of the bolting process ensures efficient, constant and durable rock bolt integrity,” Sandvik said. The DS2711 provides “excellent” bolting performance to cost ratio for small and medium size tunnels with a minimum cross section of 2.7 m (width) x 3 m (height), according to Sandvik. “Designed with proven and reliable components, the DS2711 provides high reach, and is able to install all types of mechanised rock bolts ranging in length from 1.5 m to 2.4 m,” Sandvik said. “It is in effect a small premium bolter, compact, mobile, and designed for global needs.” The next addition to the range – the Sandvik DL2711 and DL2721 long hole drills – happened in July. These new long hole drills are fully mechanised and compact, with an electro-hydraulic HL710S top hammer rock drill designed for underground mining in 3.2 x 3.2 m or larger production drifts, Sandvik says. The machines are capable of drilling vertical and inclined fans and single or parallel diameter 64–89 mm long holes up to 38 meters in length, using T38, T45 and T51 MF-rods or Ø65 mm tube rods. MEI�Conferences A 360° drilling module rotation and wide boom swing and tilt angles, meanwhile, make the drill suitable for most mining methods and various service support applications, Sandvik says. Comminution ‘21 Cape Town, South Africa, April 19­22, 2021 Sponsored by: King's Ceramics & Chemicals, Russell Mineral Equipment, Keramos, Grinding Solutions, Glencore Technology, Starkey & Associates, ME Elecmetal, Derrick Corp., ZEISS, Hudbay Minerals, Magotteaux, FLSmidth, Outotec, Sino Grinding International, Maelgwyn Mineral Services, Metso, CEEC, International Mining & Imformed Physical Separation ‘21 Falmouth, Cornwall, UK, June 7­9, 2021 Sponsored by: Bunting, International Mining, Imformed, CEEC & Cornwall Mining Alliance Integration, Optimisation & Design of Mineral Processing Circuits ‘21 Falmouth, Cornwall, UK, June 10­11, 2021 Sponsored by: Promet101, Cornwall Mining Alliance & International Mining Biomining ‘21 Falmouth, Cornwall, UK, June 21­22, 2021 Sponsored by: AFX Mixing & Pumping Technologies, International Mining & Cornwall Mining Alliance Sustainable Minerals ‘21 Falmouth, Cornwall, UK, June 23­24, 2021 Sponsored by: FLSmidth, International Mining, Cornwall Mining Alliance & CEEC Flotation ‘21 Cape Town, South Africa, November 8­11, 2021 Sponsored by: Promet101, Maelgwyn Mineral Services, Magotteaux, Gold Ore, CiDRA Minerals Processing, Hudbay Minerals, Senmin, Clariant, BASF & International MiningCornwall Mining Alliance www.min-eng.com/conferences/ E: [email protected] Conferences The DL2711 version is more compact and allows the drill module to be closer to the face, while the DL2721 version allows safe operations under a protected FOPS canopy, according to the company. How low can you go? When low-profile mining becomes extra low profile (XLP) mining, the number of companies miners can turn to for new equipment decreases. Epiroc, Sandvik and Rham have both come up with XLP offerings – aimed at the popular South Africa market – but specialists such as DOK- ING have been gaining market share of late and realised the future of XLP mining looks to be electric. In electric developments, Sandvik’s LZ101LE battery-powered dozer is currently still being trialled, according to the original equipment manufacturer. It features a push capacity of up to 4 t and is designed for cleaning stopes as low as 1.1 m. This makes it an ideal machine for tabular orebodies, such as platinum and chrome mines, the company says. “Trials are ongoing to collect results from operations in various situations – more detailed information will be communicated in a next phase,” Sandvik says. Epiroc, meanwhile, is facing potential upheaval at the Anglo American Platinum-owned Tumela 15E underground platinum mine, part of the Amandelbult Complex in Limpopo province, South Africa. In Anglo American Platinum’s 2019 report, it said it was planning to trial electric narrow reef mechanised equipment at Tumela. These new narrow reef machines use lithium-ion batteries, which can achieve up to 2,000 charging cycles, and will eventually replace the current fleet of diesel-powered Epiroc XLP units in the future, it said. IM understands that Tumela will initially use the existing diesel refurbished Epiroc XLP fleet for the first phase of the 15E work, with the intention to progressively phase the units out with electric DOK-ING Narrow Reef Equipment (NRE) in its final production trial stage, later in 2020. If the NRE equipment performs to expectations, the mine will then utilise the NRE units as it opens the scale of the 15E project. The potential NRE benefits are numerous, according to the company. Foremost is safety, as remote-controlled equipment keeps workers away from the mine face. It allows for lower panel widths (0.9-1.7 m), resulting in less dilution of ore with waste, as well as faster extraction and 62 International Mining | JULY/AUGUST 2020