CONTRACT MINING
This year , the contractor and its technology partner , InSig Technologies , successfully deployed their first remote controlled underground jumbo drill ( an Epiroc S2 Jumbo ) from surface , while , earlier in 2020 , the two installed and commissioned a Smart Gas monitoring solution at the underground operation . Both developments followed the rollout of a
Wi-Fi system at the operation by InSig .
On the remote controlled jumbo , RUC said : “ The technology , combined with long life drill bits and existing OEM technology on the rigs , such as auto drill , will result in massive gains in productivity , predictable drilling and more cuts per week .
“ RUC believes they could gain up to five extra cuts per week drilling in ideal conditions .”
The surface remote-controlled Epiroc S2 jumbo , operated via a retrofitted bespoke control system , represents “ a first ”, the company explained . InSig Technologies is also working on developing conversion packages for the Epiroc Simba S7 and Epiroc Simba E7 platforms , RUC reported .
Still in WA , Barminco , a Perenti company , has piloted a new operations centre that , it says , allows the contractor to remotely operate underground equipment on a client ’ s mine site anywhere around the world .
In what the company believed to be a world first , last year , it operated a machine working underground at Independence Group ’ s ( IGO ) Nova nickel-copper-cobalt mine site , in the Goldfields of Western Australia , from the Barminco head office in Perth , almost 1,000 km away .
“ The innovation was made more impressive given the remote operation occurred via the internet , instead of through a fibre-optic cable , which is the method that mine owner-operators have historically used ,” Barminco said .
The Barminco Remote Operating Centre , or BROC , was successfully trialled in collaboration with Sandvik back in July 2019 at the IGO operation , the company said .
The contractor has gone one step further than teleremote operation at MMG ’ s Dugald River mine in Queensland , Australia .
Back in July , the company confirmed to IM that Barminco and the miner were trialling a semiautonomous Sandvik LH621i LHD at Dugald River to further boost production at the zinc-lead operation .
Hammer time
It is above ground where Macmahon Holdings has been exhibiting its automation prowess , with the company recently teaming up with AngloGold Ashanti and Flanders to deploy a fleet of five Cat MD6250 autonomous drill rigs at AngloGold ’ s majority-owned Tropicana gold mine in Western
Australia .
The rollout of this autonomous drill fleet is believed to be an industry first for hard-rock mining using top hammer versus the more traditional rotary concept for blast-hole drilling , the contractor says .
The autonomous fleet recorded an 8 % increase in instantaneous penetration rates compared with the manned rigs along with a 14 % reduction in delay times , Macmahon reported of a comparison between June 2020 and May 2020 operations .
Macmahon Executive General Manager , Plant & Innovation , Mark Hatfield , says the company has a vision to be the leading mining contractor of the future . Investments over the last four years in digital and operational technology solutions across its value chain , through the company-wide Technology enabled Transformation program , are helping deliver on this goal .
In making such investments , Macmahon has been conscious of engaging with clients , as well as OEMs and METS companies , to produce solutions that can be customised to the application .
“ As the needs of our clients are diverse , we tailor the focus of our technology solutions so that they drive specific value for each client ,” Hatfield told IM .
“ An example is collaboration with another METS provider to leverage high-frequency machine data from our dump trucks to provide directed coaching to the operators . At one site , this technology has reduced tyre wear rates by 70 %, and on another , allowed us to park-up some of the truck fleet , while maintaining high productivity targets .”
Hatfield says the industry is going through the early stages of a “ deep transformation ” delivered by digital technologies – moving from manual to semi-autonomous and autonomous mines – and Macmahon ’ s strategic imperative is to deliver “ real value ” to clients throughout this phase . “ Technology adoption , therefore , is very dependent on the maturity of the technology as
This year , RUC , and its technology partner , InSig Technologies , successfully deployed their first remote controlled underground jumbo drill from surface
well as the life of the mine and the productivity it will enable ,” he said . “ There is not a ‘ one size fits all ’ approach to adoption . As technologies mature and move down the cost curve , more opportunities to adopt open up .
“ We are finding that clients will take advantage of technology , but only when it makes sense from commercial , safety and environmental aspects . Our alliance-style business approach enables this adoption at the right time for our clients .”
The expectations of what technology expertise a contract miner should bring to the table has increased over the last couple of years , Hatfield acknowledges .
“ Table-stakes now include digital data collection and analytics and a technology roadmap specific to each client ’ s requirements ,” he said .
It may be developments on surface that have recently highlighted Macmahon ’ s automation and digitalisation expertise , but the company , which bolstered its underground contract proficiency last year with the buy of GBF Underground Mining Group , believes technology adoption underground will increase significantly in the next three to five years .
“ Key factors contributing to this increased uptake is the productivity imperative to overcome industry-wide factors such as decreasing ore grades and deeper , more complex deposits combined with an increasing environmental and social awareness ,” Hatfield said .
Macmahon ’ s innovation in the underground sector can be seen in the deployment of a digital Management Operating System ( MOS ), which brings all site activities together into a single “ pane of glass ”. This enables improved coordination and productivity across the entire mine , Hatfield said , adding that MOS has been deployed at an underground mine site in Western Australia .
IM
40 International Mining | NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2020