MINERAL PORTS AND STOCKPILES
Stacker surge
Over the past year , thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions ’ subsidiary in Australia has been making headway on upgrading the bulk handling facilities of Rio Tinto ’ s East Intercourse Island ( EII ), in the Port of Dampier , Western Australia .
In a matter of months , the engineering firm went from declaring first ore aboard a new stacker at EII to achieving the milestone on a second and then third unit .
The project , announced back in August 2017 by Rio , involves the manufacture , installation and commissioning of three replacement stackers and associated equipment as part of an almost A $ 70 million ($ 54 million ) upgrade .
During this announcement , Rio said thyssenkrupp Australia would manufacture , assemble and fabricate the stackers required for the refurbishment before transporting the 1,860 t of stacker weight to the Pilbara .
The Germany-based company has also been making leaps and bounds in the automation field in the last decade , with its Transfer Point Alignment ( TPA ) system a critical item in its aim of removing personnel from the excavation process .
By automating mining operations through its TPA system , thyssenkrupp says users can increase productivity , machine availability and lower operational costs . TPA automatically keeps the transfer points of autonomous downstream machines aligned during the excavation process , saving time and money .
TPA is an intelligent , sensor-based solution for all machines required in the excavation process – from the bucketwheel excavator ( BWE ) and belt wagon to the tripper car . TPA automation systems ensure transfer point alignment by following a set of steps : n Measuring the position of each mobile machine involved in the excavation process by means of radar and GPS sensors ; n Evaluating the current machine constellation ; n Sending individual commands to different actuators when detecting deviation on the optimal transfer point position ; and n Stopping the material flow if the deviation exceeds a predefined value .
Rise in reclaiming
It was a BWR that recently received the TAKRAF treatment in Chile ’ s Antofagasta region .
The company achieved an important milestone on this refurbishment contract , which saw a TAKRAF BWR put into service again after it was moved from a “ sister ” operation .
The TAKRAF BWR will meet the increased reclaiming capacity requirement because of a major investment to overcome declining ore grades and increase production , thereby ensuring operational continuity at this flagship copper operation , it said .
Installation of the boom into the superstructure of the TAKRAF BWR 7100 was completed in November
2020 , with this refurbishment project commencing following the award of an engineering procurement and construction ( EPC ) contract in September 2019 . The machine was to be put into operation in early 2021 after remaining works and commissioning were completed .
As part of the contract , TAKRAF also provided support and technical assistance in moving the machine some 170 km from where it was in operation up until May 2018 .
The copper mine , located in Chile ’ s Antofagasta region , was commissioned in the late 2000s , with its reclaiming capacity requirements being successfully met to date by another TAKRAF BWR , model HR 5000 . However , with the increased production , a higher capacity machine was required to meet the increased reclaiming requirement .
TAKRAF has been involved in the project since inception . This commenced with a 2015 comparative study to establish the feasibility of employing the BWR at the current operation , through to a basic engineering study to identify the required system modifications and , in 2019 , the award of the complete EPC contract to refurbish the machine for operation at optimal productivity .
Shipping / port solutions
Late in 2020 , FLSmidth received an order for its BulkExpert™ digital solution , to fully automate the stockyard operation of two large iron ore shipping export terminals in the south of Brazil .
BulkExpert is a digital solution that allows for the unmanned , fully automated and optimised movement of material handling equipment in dry bulk terminals . It does this by using a 3D laser scanning system , RTK- GPS technologies and control software that processes proprietary algorithms to enable fully autonomous operation , FLSmidth says .
The BulkExpert order comprises a core digital solution and advanced automation for three stockyard machines at one port and eight stockyard machines at the other ( including standalone and combined stackers and BWRs ).
“ We are delighted to receive this repeat order for the BulkExpert as it is a clear indication of the customer ’ s satisfaction with the current BulkExpert solution at their terminal stockyard in Southeast Asia , which has been operational for five years ,” Mikko Tepponen , CDO at FLSmidth , said . “ The order is a clear vote of confidence for FLSmidth ’ s work during the feasibility stage and for our focus on highperforming , productivity-providing digital solutions .”
The project was secured after a complex period
FLSmidth says the BulkExpert digital solution at two large iron ore shipping export terminals in the south of Brazil will deliver several benefits to the customer , including higher throughput , greater efficiency and increased guaranteed performance
where FLSmidth worked especially closely and diligently with the customer to ensure “ perfect alignment on scheduling and implementation ”, which will mean an increase in productivity without loss of production due to downtime during commissioning , it reported .
FLSmidth says the solution will deliver several benefits to the customer , including higher throughput , greater efficiency and increased guaranteed performance . Extended machine life and reduced maintenance can also be expected due to lower stress on the machinery .
The BulkExpert solution will be fully integrated with the customer ’ s own systems and will provide safer remote operations thanks to technical innovations like an enhanced anti-collision and collision-avoidance system . Elsewhere , quality management will keep track of all material movements in the stockyard , while a sophisticated material blending control will reduce quality deviations , enabling the customer to save valuable natural resources .
In terms of advancing FLSmidth ’ s Mission Zero goals , through digital optimisation , BulkExpert significantly reduces stockyard energy consumption by optimising the operation of the stockyard equipment and stockyard infrastructure . Simultaneously , BulkExpert reduces , or even fully eliminates , the need for heavily polluting manually operated dozers and loaders . The company says these benefits provide a good example of how FLSmidth enables mining customers to move towards “ zero impact mining ”.
On top of this major order , FLSmidth also designed and supplied two large stockyard machines to a major mining company in Australia in 2020 , with a BWR and travelling stacker with a luffable and slewable discharge boom currently in execution stage .
In the second half of the year , it also secured two orders for stockyard equipment for a mine and a port in Brazil , one drum reclaimer and again a BWR , which extended the company ’ s large installed base of mobile balanced machines in South America .
IM
MARCH 2021 | International Mining 59