WORLD PROSPECTS
Rio to trial Sandvik BEVs in new Kennecott UG development
Rio Tinto has approved a $ 108 million investment in underground development to enable early orebody access and undertake orebody characterisation studies for underground mining at the Kennecott copper operations in the US located in Utah near Salt Lake City . The mine is also commonly known as Bingham Canyon . The investment builds on $ 25 million approved in early-2020 to complete a pre-feasibility study to determine the viability of underground mining operations at Kennecott . Potential underground mining would occur concurrently with open pit operations and result in increased copper output .
Kennecott holds the potential for a significant and attractive underground development , with declared Mineral Resources of 20 Mt at 3.65 % copper and 1.62 g / t gold with further upside potential based on drilling .
The feasibility study work will focus on gathering critical geological , geotechnical and hydrogeological data to inform Rio Tinto ’ s assessment of underground development options and is expected to be completed in 2024 . Existing infrastructure from previous underground projects will be extended to access the North Rim Skarn orebody , allowing for the development of crosscuts and further drilling of the resource . The project includes approximately 15,000 ft ( 4,500 m ) of lateral development , 1,000 ft ( 300 m ) of vertical development and associated support infrastructure .
The project will also include the trial of underground battery electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions at Kennecott and across Rio Tinto ’ s global operations . Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions will supply a battery electric haul truck and loader to evaluate performance and suitability for future underground mining fleets .
Pre-feasibility studies are also being progressed to extend open pit mining at Kennecott beyond 2032 , with a further push back of the North Wall to allow access to Mineral Resources . This follows a $ 1.5 billion investment in the second phase of the South Wall Pushback project , approved in 2019 , to allow open cut
mining to continue between 2026 and 2032 .
Rio Tinto Copper Chief Executive Bold Baatar said : “ Kennecott holds a range of options to extend our supply of copper and other critical materials , to meet the strong demand being driven by electric vehicles and renewable power technologies . The operation is uniquely positioned to supply these emerging markets , with one of only two operating smelters in the United States that also processes concentrates from third parties , a long history delivering high quality products and significant resources that are yet to be developed .” www . riotinto . com ; https :// www . rocktechnology . sandvik /
GHH India plaudits for work with Hindustan Zinc
GHH India ’ s recently established contract mining arm , GHH Bumi Mining Service , has notched up its first significant award , being recognised by Vedanta Group / Hindustan Zinc Ltd ( HZL ) for the work it is doing at the Zawar Mala zinc-lead underground mine in Rajasthan , India . In a recent online event , GHH Bumi Mining Service , established late last year , was named as the recipient of the Best Performing Business Partner by the companies .
The award winner was chosen out of all business partners and recognised a job well done , GHH said . Over the last six months , GHH Bumi has been carrying out contract mining at Zawar Mala , and was presented the award , GHH says , based on excellent performance involving all contract mining activities , including those related to safety , production and asset optimisation .
Since January , GHH Bumi has been responsible for production and mine development with more than 350 employees at Zawar Mala . For this purpose , the company has access to more than 20 LHDs , dump trucks and drilling rigs from the GHH Group .
Dr Jan Petzold , CEO of GHH Group , said : “ With this award , we as GHH Group see ourselves confirmed in our efforts as a reliable business partner for HZL – a cooperation that started almost four years ago with the supply of mining machinery and has resulted in being awarded as mining contractor and OEM . This is a special incentive to be able to conclude the second mine developer and operator contract with HZL , which is currently in preparation .”
The latest generation of GHH mining equipment , with its new dump truck MK-42 , LF-14 and LF-10 LHDs as well as two FM 2.3 boom drill rigs from GHH group company , Mine Master , are on their way to India and are expected to be on site beginning of August , GHH said . GHH says GHH Bumi is also currently working on preparing for the expansion of the Mochia Balaria Decline project , where a rapid development proposal is under way . www . ghh-fahrzeuge . de
Epiroc prepared for more order records after strong Q2
Record orders received , high revenue growth and improved profitability were all part of Epiroc ’ s June quarter financial results as the OEM also made significant headway on its dieselto-battery-electric retrofit plan to help electrify the mining sector . Orders received increased 37 % to a record high of SEK11.07 billion ($ 1.27 billion ). This corresponds to 45 % organic growth compared with the June quarter of 2020 , the company said , noting that the 2020 three-month period was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic . |
Within this , equipment had the highest organic order growth of 76 %, supported by a few large orders , such as an underground mining equipment order from Mexican contractor CoMinVi for use at several mines throughout the country . The aftermarket also had a strong development , with organic growth of 26 % for service and 42 % for Tools & Attachments , Epiroc noted .
On the electrification front , Epiroc also highlighted that the June quarter had seen the company win several orders for battery-electric
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equipment , including one from Ivanplats for the Platreef project in South Africa , while receiving the first orders for its diesel-to-battery retrofit solution . The latter is starting with the conversion of diesel ST1030 loaders to battery-electric versions .
Revenues increased 15 % to SEK9.733 billion in the June quarter , while operating profit and operating margin rose 54 % and 22.4 % to SEK2.182 billion and 22.4 %, respectively . The period was also characterised by several
acquisitions , including the purchase of Australia-
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4 International Mining | AUGUST 2021 |
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