REBUILDS & REFURBS
Martin Wallman , Product Line Manager , Epiroc Parts and Service division
for rebuilds much more today than just taking a battered and used machine back to its original specs – to what extent can the machine be reborn with better components , and possibly addition of new analytics and digitalisation , even automation or switching to battery power ?
“ All these things are possible . Upgrading components to the latest that are available is fairly standard today and even though there might be a slight addition in the cost , very few customers want
the machine back to just as delivered state . For sure , customers want the latest engines , hydraulics etc , basically to have the machine upgraded with the latest technical specifications and technology included during Midlife rebuilds . This is both to ensure maximum possible safety but also to increase productivity . Often they leave it to us to advise them of what is possible . If the machine is ten years old , we know better than anyone else how we have enhanced the design of that model over that time period .” In some cases customers have wanted an open cab machine converted to an enclosed cab during a Midlife rebuild or have even just bought a new cab in order to fit it themselves .
Beyond that , starting with telematics , Wallman says that this is probably the easiest to take on from a design point of view as it doesn ’ t require a lot of hardware . “ A lot of mining customer are asking for that . And it doesn ’ t have to wait for a rebuild – we offer telematics retrofit kits . That said , the approach depends on the age and type of the machine . A direct controlled hydraulic machine isn ’ t going to give you a lot of telematics value . Then we have to look at adding sensors etc to get the added value . And as is always the case the possibilities are somewhat dependent on the network infrastructure at the mine .”
Wallman said part of the demand has been driven by the fact that all new machines can be equipped with telematics technology based on customer need , in Epiroc ’ s case its Certiq offering , and once existing customers see the value in the data then they want to retrofit their older machines with the capability as well . And Epiroc can equip mixed fleets if needed .
On autonomy retrofit , this is dealt with by a special team in Epiroc who are supplying kits for this purpose but Wallman confirmed it is an option for customers . While autonomous machines tend to fare better wear and tear wise than manually operated machines they are not invincible so are also candidates for Midlife rebuilds .
On battery retrofits – he said that Epiroc has a couple of ongoing projects for existing machine diesel to battery conversion . “ We have two models now in development for this offer in terms of offering predefined kits for this – the Scooptram ST1030 and the Scooptram ST14 loaders . The first machines are actually undergoing battery conversion right now .” Wallman said the Scooptram ST1030 conversion was already near completion and that testing due to start by end January as IM went to press . Why start with Scooptram loaders ? “ The 10 t loader is our largest loader fleet and at the same time , our customer will have a great value converting these machines .” But Wallman confirmed that Eprioc will and are looking at conversion kits for a number of different machine models . While it is possible to do a battery conversion without also a machine rebuild with these kits , as it is still a major undertaking , most customers for this new option are likely in the future ( as it is a new market ) to combine the conversion with a Midlife rebuild to do it . Talking of underground mining trucks there are also other possibilities – Vale ’ s Natalie Kari , Vale Base Metals , Principal Engineer - Strategic Electric Vehicle Implementation recently presented at the 2nd International Conference on High-Performance Mining from the Institute for Advanced Mining Technologies and said that it is working with an OEM on a battery trolley hybrid trolley mining truck for the Creighton Deep nickel project in Sudbury , Canada . Creighton already has several existing trolley trucks . Vale ’ s nearby Coleman mine also has a fleet of trolley trucks – a mix of older Kiruna trucks converted from DC to AC and newer versions delivered as Atlas Copco EMT-50 machines so retrofits of all these machines could be on the cards in the future . And this battery trolley approach is understandable as Coleman has the longest trolley line ever built underground ; combined with Creighton the total trolley line distance for both mines is over 10 km .
Sandvik outlines the OEM advantage
Last but not least , IM also caught up with Edson Martins , Category Manager - Rebuild Solutions , Sandvik Mining & Rock Solutions . He had this to say on addition of telematics to existing units : “ Especially on new machines coming from the factory , from Sandvik these are all ‘ digitalisation proof ’ so are ready for digitalisation with the boxes which gather machine data and in some cases even with antennas already onboard . Customers are asking for the same connectivity from legacy machines . And as part of our rebuilds services , especially our premium Reborn + offering , we include telematics as part of that where possible , so the customer can view real time performance and analytics .”
What about automation capability ? For the more recent Load and Haul machines that are electronically controlled – drive-by-wire , Martins said that because of their connectivity in place they are relatively simple to retrofit to its Automine automation platform , especially more basic versions like Automine Lite or Multi Lite and especially on LHDs which are operating in quite defined areas . For older analogue
Before and after - an Epiroc MT6020 Midlife rebuild in Australia ' s Kalgoorlie Goldfields
54 International Mining | FEBRUARY 2021