MINING RAIL
A new Rail-Veyor material haulage system is planned for Polymetal ' s Varvarinskoye , a goldproducing surface mine situated in northwest Kazakhstan
contributions from the Port or the Western Australian State Government ; and is intended to permit third party access to latent capacity within the Helix Dumper system , supporting important principles of open access . If constructed , the Helix Dumper system has a design capacity which will be capable of handling tonnages well in excess of Macarthur ’ s immediate requirements for the Lake Giles Iron Project , thereby providing the potential for increased trade through Esperance , subject to capacity elsewhere within the Port .
Rail-veyor starts to surface
Canadian company Rail-Veyor Technologies Global Inc recently announced the signing of a Purchase Agreement with Polymetal International PLC , the leading global producer of gold and silver with assets in Russia and Kazakhstan . This agreement is the first step towards the installation and operation of a new Rail-Veyor material haulage system at Varvarinskoye , a gold-producing surface mine situated in northwest Kazakhstan .
Currently ore is mined at the Varvarinskoye mine via conventional open-pit truck-shovel and drill-and-blast methods . Polymetal International acquired the mine and completed a turnaround of the operations in 2010 , leading to a substantial increase in productivity through the ongoing optimisation of systems and technology . Rail-Veyor ’ s Executive Chairman Jim Fisk has previously told IM that Rail-Veyor can comfortably haul up to -36 in rock and easily deal with ramps having a 22 % incline .
The implementation of the all-electric Rail- Veyor system forms a part of Polymetal ’ s overall goal to decarbonise material transport and decrease greenhouse gas emission intensity by at least 5 % by 2023 compared to 2018 .
Additionally , the extreme Kazakh winter can pose challenges to traditional diesel-engine haulage solutions and ore sharpness lessens the lifespan of rubber tyres – both factors adding to operational expense .
The first stage of the Rail-Veyor system installation will implement an 887 m length of track connecting a load point to a discharge point via a single train , with capacity estimated at 145 t / h ( 1 Mt / y ). The second stage of the installation will connect the original load point to a second discharge point and add a second train , bringing the total track length of the system to 1,535 m and increasing capacity to 430 t / h ( 3 Mt / y ).
“ We believe this is yet another perfect site where Rail-Veyor will show strong benefits to the end user and deliver on our promise of a clean , safe & profitable material haulage solution ,” said Fisk . “ We are proud to partner with Polymetal International , an industry leader whose commitment to innovation has already made a huge positive impact on the performance of the Varvarinskoye mine . We believe that this may be the first of many applications where Rail- Veyor may be a catalyst towards Polymetal ’ s continuing optimisation of their assets .”
The news follows a Russian development with the recent completion of an engineering design services project by Rail-Veyor in conjunction with a study by JSC Uralmekhanobr , the design institute of major mining group Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company ( UMMC , in Russian UGMK ), for the Tarnierskoe greenfield underground zinc operation , to be operated by UMMC subsidiary JSC Syvatogor .
Uralmekhanobr is a comprehensive research and design institute in the field of mining , benefication , metallurgy , chemistry , and standardisation . The Institute conducts integrated design and maintenance of facilities , from studying the material composition of raw materials and developing technology to detailed engineering and reaching the design parameters . Uralmekhanobr works with the largest mining and metallurgical and machinebuilding companies in Russia and CIS countries , as well as universities and industry research institutes .
IM
A new 8 t class 500 mm track gauge lithium battery locomotive and two pneumatic rock loaders recently arrived at a gold mining customer site in Peru , supplied by leading Chinese player Hunan Yutong Mining Equipment
18 International Mining | JUNE 2021